This is not very surprising; it is sometimes hard to get excited about another education-focused committee. But, if the ELC lives up to its charge – which is to “provide a meaningful forum for educators, community members, business leaders and lawmakers to examine the current status of education policies and make recommendations to the governor, General Assembly and governing boards regarding long-term improvements” – then this actually should be a fairly important committee.

The 38-member ELC is a who’s who of education in Colorado, and understandably so considering the task it is embarking on. Since this group is mapping out the future of education in Colorado, it should be all-encompassing. As such, every major K-12 group or association’s interests are thoroughly represented (protected?) on the ELC.

All except for one, that is. There is a glaring disparity in representation by charter schools, and I believe this is a real problem. Let me explain.